The first NSW case of a person being charged with cybersex trafficking paints a "very worrying scenario for the future", Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione has told a parliamentary inquiry.
A Sydney man faced the NSW District Court on Monday after he instructed and watched the abuse of children during a live stream from the Philippines.
He had previously pleaded guilty to more than 20 charges of causing a child under 16 to have sex outside of Australia.
Appearing before a NSW parliamentary inquiry on Tuesday, Mr Scipione described human trafficking offences as abhorrent, insidious and "a scourge".
But he said this week's case was "particularly troublesome".
"We think that's probably the future of this crime type," the outgoing commissioner said.
"You don't necessarily need to move people across borders if you can move the images ... in real-time.
"At the end of the day, it paints a very worrying scenario for the future."
The commissioner, in his last week in the top job, was asked whether NSW could be aided by a human trafficking commissioner.
"I couldn't rule it out," he replied.
"Probably what would need to be looked at was what that person would do ... what level of connectedness that person would have in the global law-enforcement effort."
Detective Superintendent Linda Howlett, the head of the NSW sex crimes squad, says technology is constantly challenging law enforcement agencies.
"A lot of the devices we're coming across are encrypted," she told the committee earlier this month.
"We have a number of sites posted overseas that we have no control over."
Det Supt Howlett says police expect to see an increase in cybersex offences in third-world countries.
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